Lifting robot systems

ABSTRACT

Lifting robot systems and methods for operating the same are disclosed. A lifting robot system includes a sensor device and a robot device. The robot device includes a body, a lifting component movably coupled to the body, and a collection tray coupled to the lifting component. Upon receiving a command to lift an object, the sensor device automatically detects the object, the robot device places the object on the collection tray, and the robot device causes the lifting component to lift the collection tray from a first height to a second height.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/109,895 filed on Aug. 23, 2018, the entire contents of whichare herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND Field

The present specification generally relates to assistive robot systemsand, more particularly, to robot systems that lift objects off a groundsurface to a level that is reachable by a user.

Technical Background

Currently, certain people may struggle with retrieving items. Forexample, people such as elderly or reduced mobility people may strugglewith the movements necessary to pick items off a ground/floor surface,such as, for example, items that have been dropped.

Existing devices and robot systems may include arms with an actuatorsuch as a gripper or the like that are manually operated by a user toretrieve an item. However, such devices and robot systems are notautonomous and may still present difficulties to the user in lifting theitem off of the ground/floor surface.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a lifting robot system includes a sensor device and arobot device. The robot device includes a body, a lifting componentmovably coupled to the body, and a collection tray coupled to thelifting component. Upon receiving a command to lift an object, thesensor device automatically detects the object, the robot device placesthe object on the collection tray, and the robot device causes thelifting component to lift the collection tray from a first height to asecond height.

In another embodiment, a lifting robot system includes a first unit anda second unit separate from the first unit. The first unit includes abody, a base supporting the body, the base having one or more mobilitycomponents, and a plow component coupled to the body such that the plowcomponent contacts a ground surface. The second unit includes a liftingpad and a lifting component coupled to the lifting pad. The liftingcomponent is movable to lift the lifting pad from the ground surface toa height.

In yet another embodiment, a lifting robot system includes a sensordevice, a user interface device, and a robot device. The robot deviceincludes a body, a lifting component movably coupled to the body, acollection tray coupled to the lifting component, a processing devicecommunicatively coupled to the sensor device, the user interface device,and the lifting component, and a non-transitory, processor-readablestorage medium communicatively coupled to the processing device. Thenon-transitory, processor-readable storage medium includes one or moreprogramming instructions that, when executed, cause the processingdevice to receive a signal or data from the user interface device, thesignal or the data corresponding to a request from a user to retrieve anobject, receive sensor data from the sensor device, where the sensordata corresponds to a sensed environment around the lifting robot systemand includes the object and an indicator indicating the object,determine a location of the object, direct movement of the robot deviceto the object such that the object is placed on the collection tray, andcause the lifting component to raise the collection tray and the object.

These and additional features provided by the embodiments describedherein will be more fully understood in view of the following detaileddescription, in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments set forth in the drawings are illustrative and exemplaryin nature and not intended to limit the subject matter defined by theclaims. The following detailed description of the illustrativeembodiments can be understood when read in conjunction with thefollowing drawings, wherein like structure is indicated with likereference numerals and in which:

FIG. 1A schematically depicts a side view of an illustrative liftingrobot system interacting with a user according to one or moreembodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 1B schematically depicts a side view of an illustrative liftingrobot system delivering an object to a user according to one or moreembodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 2 schematically depicts a top view of an illustrative collection ofa lifting robot system according to one or more embodiments shown anddescribed herein;

FIG. 3A schematically depicts a side view of another illustrativelifting robot system according to one or more embodiments shown anddescribed herein;

FIG. 3B schematically depicts a top view of an illustrative collectionplow of another lifting robot system according to one or moreembodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 4 schematically depicts illustrative hardware components of alifting robot system according to one or more embodiments shown anddescribed herein;

FIG. 5 depicts a flow diagram of an illustrative method of collecting atarget object with a lifting robot system according to one or moreembodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 6 depicts a flow diagram of another illustrative method ofcollecting a target object with a lifting robot system according to oneor more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 7 depicts a flow diagram of an illustrative method employed by anelevator portion of a lifting robot system to lift a target objectaccording to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; and

FIG. 8 depicts a flow diagram of an illustrative method of identifyingthe location of a target object by a lifting robot system according toone or more embodiments shown and described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates generally to robot systems that assist auser in retrieving target objects from a surface that is lower than theuser is able to easily access (e.g., a ground or floor surface). Therobot systems are particularly useful for users that struggle withpicking up target objects off the ground or floor on their own, such as,for example, elderly individuals or individuals with reduced mobility.The robot systems described herein generally include components forcollecting the target object from a relatively lower height (e.g., thefloor or ground surface) and elevating the target object to a relativelyhigher height (e.g., a height that is more easily reachable by a user).In some embodiments, the robot systems described herein may furtherdeliver the target object to the user. In some embodiments, the robotsystems described herein may further include an identifying device thatis held by a user and used to indicate the target object to be liftedoff the floor or ground.

The heights described herein are non-limiting, and may vary based on theabilities of a user, the height of a user, the location of a targetobject, and/or the like. As such, it should be understood that a “userreachable height,” a “height that is accessible to a person,” or othersimilar term refers to a height that a particular user can access basedon that user's abilities and body height. For example, a user that iswheelchair bound may have a user reachable height that generallycorresponds to the height of the user's arms and hands when sitting inthe wheelchair.

Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1A-1B depict an illustrativelifting robot system, generally designated 100, according to variousembodiments. The illustrative lifting robot system 100 depicted in FIGS.1A-1B may provide particular use in assisting people, particularly thosewho are elderly and/or have reduced mobility (referred to herein asusers 150), with picking a target object 170 up from a first height(e.g., a ground or floor surface, as shown in FIG. 1A) and raising thetarget object 170 to a second height (e.g., a height that is accessibleto a person, as shown in FIG. 1B), as described in further detailherein. It should be appreciated that the lifting robot system 100 isnot limited to this use and may be used for other purposes withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, thelifting robot system 100 may be used to deliver target objects 170 froma user 150 to a target location (e.g., raise or lower target objectscollected from a user). In some embodiments, the lifting robot system100 may be used in other fields, such as, for example, in healthcare, inmanufacturing, in vehicle repair, and/or the like.

The lifting robot system 100 generally includes a robot device 102communicatively coupled to a user interface device 160. The robot device102 includes a body 110 supported on a base 114. In some embodiments,the body 110 may have a plurality of surfaces. The various surfaces maysupport one or more components of the lifting robot system 100, asdescribed in further detail herein.

Still referring to FIGS. 1A-1B, the base 114 of the robot device 102 maybe coupled to (or may include) one or more mobility components, such as,for example, one or more wheels 115 rotatably coupled to the base 114.In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more wheels 115 may becoupled to a drive mechanism such as a motor, a transmission, and/or thelike such that the wheels 115 can be rotated to move the robot device102 across a surface, as described in greater detail herein. In someembodiments, at least one of the wheels 115 may be movable around aplurality of axes such that the wheel is steerable. The wheels 115 areotherwise not limited by the present disclosure and may contain anyother features. For example, the wheels 115 may be adapted for movingover varied and/or unpaved terrain, adapted for navigating the robotdevice 102 over floor obstacles (such as a single step, a threshold, orthe like), adapted to move in inclement weather conditions, and/or thelike. While FIGS. 1A-1B depict the wheels 115 as the mobilitycomponents, it should be appreciated that the present disclosure is notlimited to such. For example, the mobility components may be skis,rotors, and/or the like that provide the robot device 102 with anability to move.

In various embodiments, the robot device 102 may include a liftingcomponent 116 coupled to the body 110 (e.g., coupled to a surface of thebody 110). In some embodiments, the lifting component 116 may be movablycoupled to the body 110 such that the lifting component 116 can move ina system vertical direction (e.g., along the +y/−y axis of thecoordinate axes of FIGS. 1A-1B), as described in greater detail herein.However, it should be understood that in some embodiments, the liftingcomponent 116 may be movably coupled to the body 110 in other manners soas to facilitate tilting of the lifting component 116 or the like. Thelifting component 116 may support a collection tray 118, which isdescribed in greater detail herein with respect to FIG. 2. Stillreferring to FIGS. 1A-1B, the lifting component 116 may generallyfunction to raise, lower, or tilt the collection tray 118 between afirst height and a second height. For example, the lifting component 116may raise or lower the collection tray 118 between a ground or floorsurface (as shown in FIG. 1A) to a height above the ground or floorsurface (as shown in FIG. 1B). It should be understood that the groundor floor surface and the height to which the collection tray 118 islifted in FIG. 1B are merely illustrative, and the lifting component 116can also move the collection tray 118 between other heights notspecifically described herein. The lifting component 116 may include amechanism that adjusts the height of the lifting component 116 and thecollection tray 118 coupled thereto with respect to the remainder of therobot device 102. Such a mechanism generally provides the robot device102 with an ability to lift objects from a first height (e.g., theground or floor surface) to a second height that is higher than thefirst height (e.g., above the first height in the +y direction of thecoordinate axes of FIG. 1A).

As depicted in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the lifting component 116 mayautomatically drive the collection tray 118 in an upwards or downwardsmotion in a system vertical direction (e.g., in the +y/-y direction ofthe coordinate axes of FIGS. 1A and 1B) to lift the collection tray 118off the ground surface or place the collection tray 118 on the groundsurface. In addition, the lifting component 116 may further be anydevice or mechanism that is capable of supporting the weight of thecollection tray 118 and any item held thereon. Accordingly, the liftingcomponent 116 may include, but is not limited to, a chain drivemechanism, a belt drive mechanism, a hydraulic lift, a pneumatic lift, alinear drive motor, a lead screw, a plurality of mechanical linkages(e.g., a scissor lift mechanism), a ribbon lift (i.e., a zip lift), aspiral lift, and/or the like. Other means of driving the movement of thelifting component 116 as described herein are contemplated and includedwithin the scope of the present disclosure.

The robot device 102 may include various components that allow the robotdevice 102 to have autonomous movement and/or semi-autonomous movementcapabilities that allow the robot device 102 to move around a space withlittle or no input from a user 150 (e.g., via the user interface device160). That is, the robot device 102 may include components such asautonomous drive systems, autonomous sensing devices, and/or the like.

For example, the robot device 102 may include a sensor device 112mounted thereto, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. The sensor device 112 mayinclude various components for sensing an environment around the liftingrobot system 100 for the purposes of autonomous movement of the liftingrobot system 100, semi-autonomous movement of the lifting robot system100, and/or the like. The various components of the sensor array 112 arenot limited by the present disclosure, and may generally be anycomponents that provide the functionality described herein. For example,the sensor device 112 may include one or more imaging devices, cameras,optical sensors, ranging systems, time-of-flight (TOF) sensors,proximity sensing systems, laser emitting devices, microphones,ultrasonic signal receivers, and/or the like. Such systems shouldgenerally be understood and are not described further herein.

In some embodiments, the sensor device 112 may be particularlyconfigured to sense an area adjacent to the robot device 102 and providedata corresponding to the area adjacent to the robot device 102. Thedata may then be used to guide the robot device 102 around a space in anappropriate manner, locate the target object 170 to be lifted, lift thetarget object 170, navigate to or from one or more other objects (e.g.,the user 150), and/or the like, as described in greater detail herein.The area adjacent to the robot device 102 may be, for example, a room inwhich the robot device 102 is located, a particular geofenced area thathas been defined for the robot device 102, and/or the like.

Referring again to FIG. 1A, the user interface device 160 may be held bythe user 150 and used to provide an indicator of the target object 170to be lifted and/or to receive one or more user inputs, as described ingreater detail herein. For example, as shown in FIG. 1A, the userinterface device 160 may be portable such that it can be held in a handof the user 150, carried in a pocket of the user 150, and/or the like.However, it should be understood that such a location is merelyillustrative and the user interface device 160 may be located elsewhere.For example, the user interface device 160 may be coupled to the robotdevice 102, mounted to a wall, resting on a surface (e.g, a tabletop),or the like without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.The user interface device 160 may generally provide one or moreuser-facing functions, including, but not limited to, providing the user150 with controls for indicating the target object 170 to be lifted (asdescribed in greater detail herein), providing the user 150 withcontrols for controlling movement of the robot device 102, providing theuser 150 with controls for controlling settings of the lifting robotsystem 100, providing the user 150 with controls for docking the robotdevice 102 to a charging station, providing the user 150 with controlsfor directing the lifting component 116 to move up or down, and/or thelike. It should be understood that the user interface device 160 mayprovide other functionality not specifically described herein withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, the user interface device 160 may include one ormore user input components, including, but not limited to, one or morebuttons, one or more microphones, one or more motion sensors (e.g., gyrosensors or the like), one or more imaging devices, and/or the like. Suchcomponents may generally be used to receive one or more inputs from theuser 150 in the form of a button press, a voiced command, a movement orgesture while holding the user interface device 160, a gesture that isimaged by the user interface device 160, and/or the like. In someembodiments, the user interface device 160 may include one or more lightemitting components that emit an indicator, as described in greaterdetail herein.

In some embodiments, the user interface device 160 may have particularcomponents that provide functionality for uses other than locating thetarget object 170. For example, the user interface device 160 may havecomponents (e.g., joystick components) that allow the user 150 tomanually control movement of the robot device 102 and/or a componentthereof. As such, the user 150 may manually drive the robot device 102to the target object 170 and/or direct collection and hoisting of thetarget object 170 by manipulating a component of the user interfacedevice 160, as described herein.

In embodiments where the user interface device 160 is not physicallycoupled to the body 110 of the robot device 102, the user interfacedevice 160 may be communicatively coupled to the robot device 102 suchthat one or more signals can be transmitted. That is, the user interfacedevice 160 may be communicatively coupled to various components of therobot device 102 via a wireless connection, such as, for example, aBluetooth connection, a wi-fi connection, a mesh network connection(e.g., a Zigbee connection, a Z-wave connection, and/or the like), anear field communication (NFC) connection, and/or the like. As such, theuser interface device 160 and the various components of the robot device102 may each have hardware components that allow for such a wirelesscoupling. Additional details regarding such components are described ingreater detail herein.

In some embodiments, the user interface device 160 may include one ormore components for indicating a location of the target object 170 suchthat the robot device 102 can navigate and/or move with respect to thetarget object 170, collect the target object 170, lift the target object170, navigate and/or move relative to the user 150 so as to deliver thetarget object 170 to the user 150, and/or the like. For example, theuser interface device 160 may have a light emitting component that emitsa beam of light (e.g., a laser beam) that is aimed by the user 150 atthe target object 170 in some embodiments. The light emitted by thelight emitting component of the user interface device 160 may project adot on or near the target object 170, a shape around the target object170, or otherwise provide a projection onto or near the target object170 that is detected by the sensor device 112 and used to generate datarelating to the location of the robot device 102 (particularly the body110 thereof) relative to the target object 170 such that the robotdevice 102 can move relative to the target object 170. The projectionmay also be adjusted for size and/or shape by the user interface device160 to correspond to the size and shape of the target object 170 suchthat a size of the target object 170 can be determined for the purposesof determining whether the target object 170 is small enough to becollected and hoisted by the robot device 102. The user 150 may alsomanipulate the user interface device 160 to draw a box around the targetobject 170, which is then used for size estimation and determination ofwhether the target object 170 can be collected and hoisted. In anotherexample, the user interface device 160 may be used to determine thelocation of the target object 170 relative to the user interface device160 and/or the body 110 (e.g., via imaging an area for the target object170, using sound waves to detect the target object 170, using time offlight lasers to detect the target object 170, and/or the like),generate data corresponding to the location, and provide instructionsfor moving the body 110 relative to the target object 170.

In some embodiments, the user interface device 160 may include animaging device that is used to capture an image of the target object170. The user interface device 160 may then transmit image data to therobot device 102, which uses the image data to assist in locating thetarget object 170, determining a size of the target object 170,determining a location of the target object 170, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the location of the user interface device 160 maybe used by the robot device 102 to determine the location of the targetobject 170. That is, the user interface device 160 may be placed or heldby the user 150 in the vicinity of the target object 150, andcommunications between the user interface device 160 and the robotdevice 102 may be used to determine the location of the user interfacedevice 160 and the target object 170. For example, the user interfacedevice 160 may emit ultrasonic transmissions that are detected by tworeceivers spaced apart on the robot device 102 (e.g., two receiverswithin the sensor device 112), whereby the distance between thereceivers and the characteristics of the ultrasonic transmissions areused to triangulate the location of the user interface device 160. Inanother example, the user interface device 160 and/or the robot device102 may utilize ultra-wideband radio emitters and/or receivers todetermine the location of the user interface device 160. In yet anotherexample, the robot device 102 may utilize time-of-flight sensors tosense the location of the user interface device 160, as describedherein.

It should be understood that in some embodiments, the user interfacedevice 160 may not be used for indicating a location of the targetobject 170. That is, the user interface device 160 may receive an inputfrom the user 150 via another means, and utilize that input to determinethe location of the target object 170 or provide data relating to theuser's indication. For example, the user 150 may gesture toward thetarget object 170 (e.g., point at the target object 170). The userinterface device 160, the sensor device 112, and/or other components ofthe lifting robot system 100 may then be used to determine the gestureprovided by the user 150, determine the target object 170 based on thegesture (e.g., image an area where the user 150 is pointing, etc.), anddetermine movement or navigation instructions for navigating to thetarget object 170. In another example, the user 150 may provide an input(e.g., a voiced input via a microphone, a text based input via akeyboard, a joystick input, or the like) that is used to determine thelocation of the target object 170. For example, the user 150 may say“pick up the keys,” “get me the remote from the coffee table,” or asimilar phrase, and the user interface device 160 may sense the input,utilize voice recognition software to recognize the phrase, determinewhat the target object 170 is based on the recognized phrase, determinethe location of the target object 170 (e.g., by determining a locationuttered by the user 150, utilizing the sensor device 112 to locate thetarget object 170, and/or the like), and navigate to the target object170. Other means of determining where the user 150 is indicating,recognizing the target object 170, and navigating to the target object170 and/or the user 150 are also contemplated and included within thescope of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, the user interface device 160 may be integratedwith a third party hardware device and/or software (e.g., via anapplication programming interface (API) or the like) to interface withthe user 150 for the purposes of directing the lifting robot system 100.For example, “smart home” devices such as cameras, microphones, motionsensors, and/or the like that are communicatively coupled to a user'shome network may provide data relating to commands received from theuser 150, sensed gestures, the location of the target object 170, thelocation of the robot device 102 (or a component thereof) relative tothe target object 170, and/or the like. In a nonlimiting example, theuser 150 may utilize a third party user interface device thatincorporates an electronic personal assistant (e.g., Google Assistant(Alphabet, Inc., Mountain View, Calif.) Amazon Alexa® (Amazon.com,Seattle, Wash.), Siri® (Apple, Cupertino, Calif.), Cortana® (MicrosoftCorporation, Redmond, Wash.), or the like) to direct the robot device102 to pick up the target object 170 (e.g., by voicing a command to theuser interface device 160 and/or by gesturing toward the target object170). In some embodiments, the user interface device 160 may be a user'spersonal mobile device, such as a smartphone or the like, and/or may becoupled to a user's personal mobile device (e.g., as a hardwareattachment that is added to the mobile device).

The collection tray 118 of the robot device 102 may generally be used tocollect the target object 170 therein such that the robot device 102 cantransport the target object 170, lift the target object 170, provide thetarget object 170 to the user 150, and/or the like. Additional detailsregarding the collection tray 118 are depicted in FIG. 2. Morespecifically, FIG. 2 schematically depicts a top view of the collectiontray 118, which includes a tray body 200 hingedly coupled to acollection arm 210 via a hinge 212.

The tray body 200 may generally be a body having a surface that isshaped and sized to receive the target object 170 therein when thetarget object 170 is pushed into the tray body 200. As such, one or moreedges of the tray body 200 may include sidewalls that extend or protrudefrom the surface to prevent the target object 170 from falling off ofthe tray body 200. For example, a rear edge 202 of the tray body 200 andone or more side edges 206 of the tray body 200 may have sidewalls thatextend or protrude in a substantially system vertical direction (e.g.,along the y axis of the coordinate axes of FIG. 2). The tray body 200may also include a front edge 204 that is shaped and/or sized to allowthe target object 170 to be pushed onto the surface of the tray body 200and retained on the tray body 200 until retrieved by the user 150 (FIG.1A). That is, the front edge 204 may be beveled or sloping such that thetarget object 170 can be pushed by the collection arm 210 onto the traybody 200, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 2. It should be understoodthat the shapes, sizes, and characteristics of the various components ofthe tray body 200 may be similar to that of a dustpan. Other featuresand/or characteristics of the tray body 200 are not limited by thepresent disclosure.

The collection arm 210 may generally be a robotic arm hingedly coupledto the tray body 200 via the hinge 212 such that the collection arm 210rotates about the hinge 212 relative to the tray body 200. For example,the collection arm 210 may rotate towards or away from the tray body 200in a rotational direction R about the hinge 212. Rotational movement ofthe collection arm 210 away from the tray body 200 (e.g., in a clockwisemotion as shown in FIG. 2) may open the front edge 204 of the tray body200 to the target object 170 and/or other objects. In addition,rotational movement of the collection arm 210 towards the tray body 200(e.g., in a counterclockwise motion as shown in FIG. 2) may push anyobjects (including the target object 170) towards the tray body 200 whenobjects are located therebetween. As such, the collection arm 210 actsas a sweeping arm to push objects onto the tray body 200.

In some embodiments, the collection arm 210 is coupled to an actuator(not shown) that provides the rotational movement of the collection arm210 about the hinge 212. The actuator is not limited by this disclosure,and may generally be any actuator that provides a force to effectrotational movement of the collection arm 210. One nonlimiting exampleof an actuator that may provide such rotational movement of thecollection arm 210 is a rotary actuator. However, other actuators andother means of causing the collection arm 210 to rotate about the hinge212 relative to the tray body 200 should generally be understood to beincluded within the scope of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, the collection arm 210 may have one or more jointsthat allow portions of the collection arm 210 to articulate with respectto other portions. In such embodiments, the joints of the collection arm210 may allow the collection arm to push a plurality of different shapedand sized target objects 170 onto the tray body 210 and may also allowthe collection arm 210 to access a target object 170 that is locatednear an obstruction. For example, if the target object 170 is located ina corner, the jointed collection arm 210 can bend (via the joints)around the target object 170 without being obstructed by the walls ofthe corner.

It should be understood that the collection arm 210 described herein ismerely illustrative, and other components may also be used withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, thecollection arm 210 may include an end effector or the like that canmanipulate the target object 170 for placement onto the tray body 200.

In some embodiments, the target object 170 may be collected and/or movedby one component and lifted by another, separate component instead ofusing the same component for collecting, moving, and lifting asdescribed with respect to FIGS. 1A-1B and 2. For example, as depicted inFIGS. 3A and 3B, an alternative lifting robot system 100′ may include afirst unit 105 and a second unit 130 that is separate from the firstunit 105. The first unit 105 may generally contain components forlocating the target object 170 and/or moving the target object 170 aboutthe ground or floor surface. For example, the first unit 105 may includethe body 110 supported on the base 114 having mobility components suchas wheels 115, as described in greater detail herein. In addition, thefirst unit 105 may also include the sensor device 112, as described ingreater detail herein.

In various embodiments, the first unit 105 may further include a plowcomponent 120 that is used to contact the target object 170 and push thetarget object 170 to a particular location (e.g., towards the secondunit 130). The plow component 120 may generally be coupled to the body110 of the first unit 105 such that the plow component 120 contacts aground surface upon which the first unit 105 is located and, when thefirst unit 105 moves, the plow component 120 scrapes the surface to pushitems around the surface, as described in greater detail herein.

Referring particularly to FIG. 3B, the plow component 120 may be shaped,sized, and/or configured to push the target object 170 around a spacetowards the second unit 130 (FIG. 3A). Still referring to FIG. 3B, theplow component 120 may have a body 121 having one or more extensions 124that define a recess 122 in some embodiments. As such, as the first unit105 (FIG. 3A) moves around a space relative to the target object 170,the target object 170 is received within the recess 122 of the plowcomponent 120 and is pushed around the ground or floor surface. In someembodiments, the extensions 124 may extend from the body 121 such thatthe target object 170, when pushed around by the plow component 120, isprevented from slipping away from contact with the body 121 by theextensions 124, particularly in instances where the first unit 105 (FIG.3A) changes directions when moving. It should be understood that theplow component 120 shown in FIGS. 3A-3B is merely illustrative, andother components that provide a similar functionality of pushing thetarget object 170 is also contemplated and included within the scope ofthe present disclosure.

Referring again to FIG. 3A, the second unit 130, which may also bereferred to as an elevator, lift, dumbwaiter, or the like, may generallycontain components for lifting the target object 170 once the targetobject 170 has been delivered from the first unit 105 to the second unit130. More specifically, the second unit 130 may include a liftingcomponent 132 coupled to a lifting pad 134. The second unit 130 may bemounted to a wall or the like in an area that is accessible to the user150. The second unit 130 is generally stationary (i.e., does not movearound a room like the first unit 105) and only functions to raise andlower the lifting pad 134, as described herein.

Still referring to FIG. 3A, the lifting component 132 may generallyfunction to raise or lower the lifting pad 134 between a first heightand a second height. For example, the lifting component 132 may raise orlower the lifting pad 134 between a ground or floor surface to aparticular height (e.g., a height that is accessible to the user 150).It should be understood that the ground or floor surface and theparticular height are merely illustrative, and the lifting component 132can also move the lifting pad 134 between other heights not specificallydescribed herein. The lifting component 132 may include a mechanism thatadjusts the height of the lifting component 132 and the lifting pad 134coupled thereto. Such a mechanism generally provides the second unit 130with an ability to lift objects off the ground or floor surface.

As depicted in FIG. 3A, the lifting component 132 may automaticallydrive the lifting pad 134 in an upwards or downwards motion in a systemvertical direction (i.e., along the y axis of the coordinate axes ofFIG. 3A) to lift the lifting pad 134 off the ground surface or place thelifting pad 134 on the ground surface. In addition, the liftingcomponent 132 may further be any device or mechanism that is capable ofsupporting the weight of the lifting pad 134 and any item held thereon.Accordingly, the lifting component 132 may include, but is not limitedto, a chain drive mechanism, a belt drive mechanism, a hydraulic lift, apneumatic lift, a linear drive motor, a lead screw, a plurality ofmechanical linkages (e.g., a scissor lift mechanism), a ribbon lift(i.e., a zip lift), a spiral lift, and/or the like. Other means ofdriving the movement of the lifting component 132 as described hereinare contemplated and included within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

The lifting pad 134 is generally not limited by this disclosure, and maybe any surface that supports an object when placed thereon such that thelifting component 132 can lift the lifting pad 134. In some embodiments,the lifting pad 134 may be coupled to one or more sensors, such asimaging devices, pressure sensors, and/or the like that are used todetermine whether an object is located on the lifting pad 134, asdescribed in greater detail herein.

The robot device 102 (FIGS. 1A-1B) and the first unit 105 and secondunit 130 (FIG. 3A) may have a non-transitory, processor-readable storagemedium containing one or more programming instructions for completingthe various processes described herein, which may be embodied ashardware, software, and/or firmware, according to embodiments shown anddescribed herein. While in some embodiments the various components ofthe robot device 102, the first unit 105, and the second unit 130 may beconfigured as a general purpose computer with the requisite hardware,software, and/or firmware, in other embodiments, the various componentsof the robot device 102, the first unit 105, and the second unit 130 mayalso be configured as a special purpose computer designed specificallyfor performing the functionality described herein.

While FIG. 4 relates particularly to the lifting robot system 100depicted in FIGS. 1A and 1B, it should be understood that the same orsimilar components may also be included within the alternative liftingrobot system 100′ depicted in FIGS. 3A-3B, which includes the first unit105 and the second unit 130. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the lifting robotsystem 100 may include a non-transitory memory component 410, actuatorcontrol hardware 420, sensor hardware 422, drive hardware 424, aprocessing device 426, input/output (I/O) hardware 428, networkinterface hardware 430, user interface hardware 432, and a data storagecomponent 440. A local interface 402, such as a bus or the like, mayinterconnect the various components.

The processing device 426, such as a computer processing unit (CPU), maybe the central processing unit of the lifting robot system 100,performing calculations and logic operations to execute a program. Theprocessing device 426, alone or in conjunction with the othercomponents, is an illustrative processing device, computing device,processor, or combination thereof. The processing device 426 may includeany processing component configured to receive and execute instructions(such as from the data storage component 440 and/or the memory component410).

The memory component 410 may be configured as a volatile and/or anonvolatile computer-readable medium and, as such, may include randomaccess memory (including SRAM, DRAM, and/or other types of random accessmemory), read only memory (ROM), flash memory, registers, compact discs(CD), digital versatile discs (DVD), and/or other types of storagecomponents. The memory component 410 may include one or more programminginstructions thereon that, when executed by the processing device 426,cause the processing device 426 to complete various processes, such asthe processes described herein with respect to FIGS. 5-8.

Still referring to FIG. 4, the programming instructions stored on thememory component 410 may be embodied as a plurality of software logicmodules, where each logic module provides programming instructions forcompleting one or more tasks. Illustrative logic modules depicted inFIG. 4 include, but are not limited to, operating logic 412, systemslogic 414, sensing logic 416, and/or movement logic 418. Each of thelogic modules shown in FIG. 4 may be embodied as a computer program,firmware, or hardware, as an example. The operating logic 412 mayinclude an operating system and/or other software for managingcomponents of the lifting robot system 100. The systems logic 414 maygenerally include logic for operating components of the lifting robotsystem 100, such as, for example, facilitating communication betweenvarious components of the lifting robot system 100 (e.g., communicationsbetween the user interface device 160 and the robot device 102 (FIG.1A)). Still referring to FIG. 4, the sensing logic 416 may include oneor more programming instructions for sensing a target object,determining a location of a target object relative to the lifting robotsystem 100, sensing an indicator provided by a user interface,determining a location of an indicator relative to the lifting robotsystem 100 and/or a user interface device, and/or the like. The movementlogic 418 may include one or more programming instructions for movingthe lifting robot system 100 around a space, moving the lifting robotsystem 100 or a component thereof relative to a target object, movingvarious components of the lifting robot system 100 (e.g., a collectiontray, a lifting pad, a lifting component, and/or the like).

The actuator control hardware 420 generally includes one or morecomponents that control movement of one or more actuators coupled to thelifting robot system 100. For example, the actuator control hardware 420may control an actuator that directs movement of the collection arm 210(FIG. 2) and/or a portion thereof by transmitting signals to theactuator to cause the actuator to actuate accordingly, as described ingreater detail herein.

Still referring to FIG. 4, the sensor hardware 422 may generally includeone or more hardware components that are used in the sensor device 112(FIG. 1A). Illustrative hardware components include, but are not limitedto, a camera (including video and still cameras), an optical sensor, aranging system, a time-of-flight (TOF) sensor, a proximity sensor, laseremitting devices and/or sensing devices. Other sensors, particularlythose used for the purposes of obtaining information that is used forautonomous robotic movement, are contemplated and included within thescope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the sensorhardware 422 may receive sensed information and transmit signals and/ordata corresponding to the sensed information to one or more componentsdescribed herein. For example, the sensor hardware 422 may receiveimages and/or image data via the sensor device 112 (FIG. 1A) andgenerate one or more signals and/or data to transmit to the processingdevice 426 for processing the data and determining control of the robotdevice 102 for maneuvering the robot device 102 (FIG. 1A), as describedin greater detail herein.

Still referring to FIG. 4, the sensor hardware 422 may further includehardware components that are used to detect the location or presence ofan object. For example, the sensor hardware 422 may include a pressuresensor or the like, such as a pressure sensor coupled to the lifting pad134 (FIG. 3A) to detect the presence of an object on the lifting pad134, as described in greater detail herein.

Still referring to FIG. 4, the drive hardware 424 may generally includeone or more hardware components that control movement of the robotdevice 102 (FIG. 1A). For example, the drive hardware 424 may be used todirect a drive mechanism, one or more drive motors, and/or the like topropel the robot device 102 (FIG. 1A) around a space, to direct one ormore components (e.g., a drive mechanism) of the first unit to propelthe first unit around a space, to direct movement of the liftingcomponent, and/or the like. That is, one or more signals may betransmitted by the drive hardware 424 to a component, thereby causingthe component to move or cease moving.

Still referring to FIG. 4, the I/O hardware 428 may communicateinformation between the local interface 402 and one or more othercomponents of the lifting robot system 100. For example, the I/Ohardware 428 may act as an interface between the user interface device160 (FIG. 1A) and other components of the lifting robot system 100, soas to facilitate communication between the user interface device 160 andthe various other components of the lifting robot system 100, asdescribed in greater detail herein. Still referring to FIG. 4, the I/Ohardware 428 may be utilized to transmit one or more commands to theother components of the lifting robot system 100 and/or receive one ormore commands and/or data from the other components of the lifting robotsystem 100 in some embodiments.

The network interface hardware 430 may include any wired or wirelessnetworking hardware, such as a modem, LAN port, wireless fidelity(Wi-Fi) card, WiMax card, mobile communications hardware, and/or otherhardware for communicating with other networks and/or devices. Forexample, the network interface hardware 430 may be used to facilitatecommunication between smart home components (e.g., sensors, cameras,user interface devices, and/or the like) and the lifting robot system100 via a network. That is, the lifting robot system 100 may receivecommands from a user, receive sensor data, and/or the like from otherdevices connected to a user's home network, as described in greaterdetail herein.

The data storage component 440, which may generally be a storage medium,may contain one or more data repositories for storing data that isreceived and/or generated. The data storage component 440 may be anyphysical storage medium, including, but not limited to, a hard diskdrive (HDD), memory, removable storage, and/or the like. While the datastorage component 440 is depicted as a local device, it should beunderstood that the data storage component 440 may be a remote storagedevice, such as, for example, a server computing device, cloud basedstorage device, or the like. Illustrative data that may be containedwithin the data storage component 440 includes, but is not limited to,object data 442, sensor data 444, and/or other data. The object data 442may generally be data that is used by the lifting robot system 100 torecognize particular target objects. For example, if a user requeststhat the lifting robot system 100 lift “keys” the lifting robot system100 may access the object data 442 to obtain a reference image of a setof keys in order to locate the target object. The object data 442 may beprepopulated data or may be data that is continuously updated withimages around a space such that the lifting robot system 100 utilizes amachine learning algorithm to recognize particular characteristics of atarget object. The sensor data 444 may generally include data that isobtained from the sensor hardware 422. One nonlimiting example of datacontained within the sensor data 444 may include image data relating toan area surrounding the lifting robot system 100, a user, and/or atarget object.

It should be understood that the components illustrated in FIG. 4 aremerely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of thisdisclosure. More specifically, while the components in FIG. 4 areillustrated as residing within the lifting robot system 100, this is anonlimiting example. In some embodiments, one or more of the componentsmay reside external to the lifting robot system 100.

As mentioned above, the various components described with respect toFIG. 4 may be used to carry out one or more processes and/or providefunctionality for moving the robot device 102, for guiding the robotdevice 102 around a space, for determining an identity and/or a locationof a target object, for collecting a target object, for moving a targetobject, for lifting a target object, and/or for receiving user inputs.An illustrative example of the various processes are described withrespect to FIGS. 5-8 hereinbelow. The various processes described withrespect to FIGS. 5-8 may generally be completed by the lifting robotsystem 100 or a component thereof, such as, for example, the processingdevice 426 (FIG. 4). FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative method of collectinga target object 170, generally designated 500, using the lifting robotsystem 100 of FIGS. 1A-1B according to some embodiments. The varioussteps described with respect to FIG. 5 are merely illustrative, andadditional, fewer, or alternative steps are contemplated withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure.

While also generally referring to FIGS. 1A-1B, 2, and 4, at block 502, acommand to pick up a particular target object may be received. Thecommand may be received via the user interface device 160 on the liftingrobot system 100, may be received via a third party device thattransmits a signal to the lifting robot system 100, and/or the like.

Upon receiving such a command, a determination may be made at block 504as to whether the target object 170 has been indicated. That is, adetermination may be made as to whether the command includes a visualindication of the target object 170 (e.g., a gesture toward the targetobject 170), a verbal indication (e.g., a voiced input identifying thetarget object 170) of the target object 170, image data transmitted bythe user interface device 160 that contains an image of the targetobject 170, and/or the like. If the target object 170 is not indicatedin the command, the process may proceed to block 506. If the targetobject 170 is indicated in the command, the process may proceed to block508.

At block 506, data relating to an indicator may be received. Aspreviously described herein, the indicator may be, for example, a dotprojected by the user interface device 160 on or around the targetobject 170, a shape projected by the user interface device 160 aroundthe target object 170, and/or the like such that the indicator isdetectable by a sensor. The detection of the indicator results in data(e.g., image data, coordinate data, and/or the like) that is used forthe purposes of locating the target object 170. As described in greaterdetail herein, in embodiments where a shape is projected by the userinterface device 160 around the target object 170 to indicate a size ofthe target object 170, a determination may be made as to whether thetarget object 170 is sufficiently shaped and/or sized to be collectedand hoisted. If the target object 170 is sufficiently shaped and/orsized, the process may proceed to block 508. If the target object 170 isnot sufficiently shaped and/or sized, an error message may betransmitted and/or the process may end.

At block 508, the location of the target object 170 is determined basedon the data that is received or the inputs that are received. Such alocation is generally determined relative to a location of a knownobject, such as the location of the user 150, the location of a portionof the lifting robot system 100 (e.g., the location of the robot device102 or the location of the user interface device 160), and/or the like.In some embodiments, the location may include coordinates of the targetobject 170. As described in greater detail herein, the location may bedetermined, for example, by triangulating the location of the userinterface device 160, by obtaining location information from an imagecorresponding to the target object 170, by utilizing sensors (e.g.,time-of-flight sensors or the like) to locate the target object 170, bysensing a location of the indicator projected by the user interfacedevice 160, by receiving data voiced or gestured by the user 150 thatcorresponds to the location (e.g., “by the coffee table,” “under thechair,” etc.), and/or the like.

The location of the target object 170 is then used to determine amovement path of the robot device 102 (and/or a component thereof) tothe target object 170 at block 510. Such a determination may include useof a mapping algorithm or the like that accounts for free space andblockages such that the robot device 102 does not collide with otherobjects when moving toward the target object 170. In some embodiments,movement may be determined such that the robot device 102 is correctlypositioned relative to the target object 170 (i.e., such that the targetobject 170 can be moved onto the collection tray 118, as describedherein). The robot device 102 (and/or a component thereof) may then moveaccording to the determined movement path at block 512.

It should be understood that the processes according to blocks 508, 510,and 512 may occur continuously until the robot device 102 (and/or acomponent thereof) is located adjacent to the target object 170 and ispositioned relative to the target object 170 for the purposes ofcollecting the target object 170. As such, at block 514, a determinationmay be made as to whether the robot device 102 is adjacent to andcorrectly positioned relative to the target object 170. Such adetermination may generally include obtaining data (e.g., image dataand/or the like) and determining the location and positioning of therobot device 102 relative to the target object 170. If the robot device102 is not adjacent to and/or not correctly positioned relative to thetarget object 170, the process may return to block 508. If the robotdevice 102 is adjacent to and correctly positioned relative to thetarget object 170, the process may proceed to block 516.

At block 516, the collection arm 210 may be actuated. Actuation of thecollection arm 210 may include, for example, transmitting an actuationsignal from the actuator control hardware 420 to an actuator coupled tothe collection arm 210 to activate the collection arm 210 such that thecollection arm 210 moves to sweep or otherwise place the target object170 onto the collection tray 118. As a result, the target object 170 maybe positioned on the collection tray 118 at block 518.

Once the target object 170 has been positioned on the collection tray118, the collection tray 118 may be raised at block 520. For example, asignal may be transmitted from the actuator control hardware 420 and/orthe drive hardware 424 to cause the lifting component 116 to raise thecollection tray 118 (e.g., move the collection tray 118 in the +ydirection of the coordinate axes of FIG. 1A). The collection tray 118may generally be lifted to a height that is accessible to the user 150,as described in greater detail herein.

Still referring to FIGS. 1A-1B. 2, and 4, the user 150 may not belocated at or near the robot device 102 in some embodiments. Inaddition, the user 150 may not be able to move to the location of therobot device 102. As such, a location of the user 150 relative to therobot device 102 may be determined at block 522. Such a determinationmay include determining based on the data that is received or the inputsthat are received. In some embodiments, the location may includecoordinates of the user 150. The location of the user 150 is then usedto determine a movement path of the robot device 102 (and/or a componentthereof) to the user 150 at block 524. Such a determination may includeuse of a mapping algorithm or the like that accounts for free space andblockages such that the robot device 102 does not collide with otherobjects when moving toward the user 150. In some embodiments, movementmay be determined such that the lifting robot system 100 is correctlypositioned relative to the user 150 (i.e., such that the user 150 canaccess the collection tray 118 and the target object 170 supportedthereon, as described herein). The robot device 102 (and/or a componentthereof) may then move according to the determined movement path atblock 526.

It should be understood that the processes according to blocks 522, 524,and 526 may occur continuously until the robot device 102 (and/or acomponent thereof) is located adjacent to the user 150 and is positionedrelative to the user 150 for the purposes of providing the target object170 to the user 150.

FIG. 6 depicts an illustrative method of collecting a target object 170,generally designated 600, using the lifting robot system 100′ of FIGS.3A-3B according to some embodiments. The various steps described withrespect to FIG. 6 are merely illustrative, and additional, fewer, oralternative steps are contemplated without departing from the scope ofthe present disclosure.

While also generally referring to FIGS. 3A-3B and 4, at block 602, acommand to pick up a particular target object may be received. Thecommand may be received via the user interface device 160 of the liftingrobot system 100′, may be received via a third party device thattransmits a signal to the lifting robot system 100′, and/or the like.

Upon receiving such a command, a determination may be made at block 604as to whether the target object 170 has been indicated. That is, adetermination may be made as to whether the command includes a visualindication of the target object 170 (e.g., a gesture toward the targetobject 170), a verbal indication (e.g., a voiced input identifying thetarget object 170) of the target object 170, image data transmitted bythe user interface device 160 that contains an image of the targetobject 170, and/or the like. If the target object 170 is not indicatedin the command, the process may proceed to block 606. If the targetobject 170 is indicated in the command, the process may proceed to block608.

At block 606, data relating to an indicator may be received. Aspreviously described herein, the indicator may be, for example, a dotprojected by the user interface device 160 on or around the targetobject 170, a shape projected by the user interface device 160 aroundthe target object 170, and/or the like such that the indicator isdetectable by a sensor. The detection of the indicator results in data(e.g., image data, coordinate data, and/or the like) that is used forthe purposes of locating the target object 170. As described in greaterdetail herein, in embodiments where a shape is projected by the userinterface device 160 around the target object 170 to indicate a size ofthe target object 170, a determination may be made as to whether thetarget object 170 is sufficiently shaped and/or sized to be collectedand hoisted. If the target object 170 is sufficiently shaped and/orsized, the process may proceed to block 608. If the target object 170 isnot sufficiently shaped and/or sized, an error message may betransmitted and/or the process may end.

At block 608, the location of the target object 170 is determined basedon the data that is received or the inputs that are received. Such alocation is generally determined relative to a location of a knownobject, such as the location of the user 150, the location of the firstunit 105 of lifting robot system 100′, the location of the second unit130 of the lifting robot system 100′, the location of the user interfacedevice 160, and/or the like. In some embodiments, the location mayinclude coordinates of the target object 170. As described in greaterdetail herein, the location may be determined, for example, bytriangulating the location of the user interface device 160, byobtaining location information from an image corresponding to the targetobject 170, by utilizing sensors (e.g., time-of-flight sensors or thelike) to locate the target object 170, by sensing a location of theindicator projected by the user interface device 160, by receiving datavoiced or gestured by the user 150 that corresponds to the location(e.g., “by the coffee table,” “under the chair,” etc.), and/or the like.

The location of the target object 170 is then used to determine amovement path of the first unit 105 (and/or a component thereof) to thetarget object 170 at block 610. Such a determination may include use ofa mapping algorithm or the like that accounts for free space andblockages such that the first unit 105 does not collide with otherobjects when moving toward the target object 170. In some embodiments,movement may be determined such that the first unit 105 is correctlypositioned relative to the target object 170 (i.e., such that the targetobject 170 can be pushed by the plow component 120, as describedherein). The first unit 105 (and/or a component thereof) may then moveaccording to the determined movement path at block 612.

It should be understood that the processes according to blocks 608, 610,and 612 may occur continuously until the first unit 105 of the liftingrobot system 100′ (and/or a component thereof) is located adjacent tothe target object 170 and is positioned relative to the target object170 for the purposes of pushing or otherwise manipulating the targetobject 170. As such, at block 614, a determination may be made as towhether the first unit 105 is adjacent to and correctly positionedrelative to the target object 170. Such a determination may generallyinclude obtaining data (e.g., image data and/or the like) anddetermining the location and positioning of the first unit 105 relativeto the target object 170. If the first unit 105 is not adjacent toand/or not correctly positioned relative to the target object 170, theprocess may return to block 608. If the first unit 105 is adjacent toand correctly positioned relative to the target object 170, the processmay proceed to block 616.

At block 616, the target object 170 may be positioned relative to theplow component 120. For example, the first unit 105 may move or orientitself such that the target object 170 is located within the recess 122such that the body 121 of the plow component 120 can push the targetobject 170.

Once the target object 170 has been positioned relative to the plowcomponent 120, a location of the second unit 130 (e.g., the elevator)relative to the first unit 105 may be determined at block 618. Such adetermination may include determining based on the data that is receivedor the inputs that are received. In some embodiments, the location mayinclude coordinates of the second unit 130. The location of the secondunit 130 (e.g., the elevator) is then used to determine a movement pathof the first unit 105 (and/or a component thereof) to the second unit130 at block 620. Such a determination may include use of a mappingalgorithm or the like that accounts for free space and blockages suchthat the first unit 105 does not collide with other objects when movingtoward the second unit 130. In some embodiments, movement may bedetermined such that the first unit 105 is correctly positioned relativeto the second unit 130 (i.e., such that the target object 170 is pushedby the first unit 105 onto the lifting pad 134 of the second unit 130,as described herein). The first unit 105 (and/or a component thereof)may then move according to the determined movement path at block 622.

It should be understood that the processes according to blocks 618, 620,and 622 may occur continuously until the first unit 105 (and/or acomponent thereof) is located adjacent to the second unit 130 and ispositioned relative to the second unit 130 for the purposes of pushingthe target object 170 onto the lifting pad 134.

Once the first unit 105 has moved to push the target object 170 onto thelifting pad 134 of the second unit 130, a signal may be transmitted tothe second unit 130 at block 624. The signal may generally indicate thatthe target object 170 is located on the lifting pad 134 and is ready tobe lifted. Lifting the target object 170 may be completed as describedherein with respect to FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 depicts an illustrative method of lifting a target object 170,generally designated 700, using the lifting robot system 100′ of FIGS.3A-3B according to some embodiments. Referring now to FIGS. 3A-3B, 4,and 7, the second unit 130 may receive the signal from the first unit105 indicating that the target object 170 is located on the lifting pad134 and is ready to be lifted at block 702. At block 704, adetermination may be made as to whether the target object 170 has beendetected on the lifting pad 134. For example, data may be transmitted bythe lifting pad 134 or a component coupled thereto (e.g., a pressuresensor or the like) that indicates whether the target object 170 hasbeen detected. For example, if the lifting pad 134 has a pressure sensorcoupled thereto, the pressure sensor may transmit data if the amount ofpressure applied to the pressure sensor is indicative of an objectplaced thereon (e.g., the weight of the target object 170 causes thetarget object 170 to press down on the pressure sensor, which transmitsa signal in response). If no object is detected, the process may proceedto block 706. If an object is detected, the process may proceed to block708.

At block 706, an error signal may be transmitted. Such an error signalmay generally be indicative that no object was received on the liftingpad 134 such that the first unit 105 of the lifting robot system 100′can carry out one or more processes to move the target object 170 asneeded. As such, the error signal may be transmitted to the first unit105 in some embodiments.

At block 708, the lifting pad 134 may be raised. That is, the liftingcomponent 132 may be actuated to raise the lifting pad 134 to aparticular height, such as a height that is accessible to the user 150,as described in greater detail herein. A signal indicating that thelifting pad 134 has been lifted may then be provided at block 710. Sucha signal is not limited by this disclosure, and may generally be anysignal. For example, the signal may be transmitted to provide anindication to the user 150 (FIG. 1A) that the lifting pad 134 has beenraised, such as via the user interface device 160. In another example,the signal may be transmitted to the first unit 105 of the lifting robotsystem 100′ such that the first unit 105 moves away from the second unit130 so the second unit 130 is accessible to a user 150.

Still referring to FIGS. 3A-3B, 4, and 7, a determination may be made asto whether the target object 170 has been removed from the raisedlifting pad 134. For example, data may be transmitted by the lifting pad134 or a component coupled thereto (e.g., a pressure sensor or the like)that indicates whether the target object 170 has been removed from thelifting pad 134. For example, if the lifting pad 134 has a pressuresensor coupled thereto, the pressure sensor may transmit data if theamount of pressure applied to the pressure sensor is indicative of anobject being removed therefrom (e.g., the weight of the target object170 on the pressure sensor is reduced, which transmits a signal inresponse). If the target object 170 is detected as being removed fromthe lifting pad 134, the lifting pad 134 may be lowered to receiveadditional objects at block 714. If the target object 170 is detected asnot being removed (i.e., still present on the lifting pad 134), the padposition at the particular height may be maintained at block 716 untilthe target object 170 is removed. As such, in some embodiments, theprocess may return to block 710 to notify the user 150 again.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of an illustrative method of identifying alocation of the target object 170, generally designated 800. Referringnow to FIGS. 1A-1B, 4, and 8, the method 800 includes receiving a userinput at block 802. The user input may generally be received at the userinterface device 160 in the form of a button press, a voiced command, amovement of the user interface device 160 in a particular way such thatthe gyro sensors or the like within the user interface device 160 detectthe particular movement, and/or the like. However, it should beunderstood that the user input may be received via other means, such as,but not limited to, receiving data from a third party device, where thedata corresponds to the user input or utilizing the sensor device 112 todetect a user gesture, voiced input, and/or the like and determining theuser input therefrom.

The type of user input received at block 802 dictates the next step inthe method 800 of FIG. 8. That is, if the user input received at block802 corresponds to an indication that the user 150 is utilizing the userinterface device 160 to project an indicator onto the target object 170(e.g., the user 150 is pushing a button that activates a laser emittingdevice), the process may proceed to block 804, whereby the indicator isemitted. However, if the user input received at block 802 corresponds toanother indication of the target object 170 and/or the location of thetarget object 170 (e.g., the user 150 voices “pick up the keys near thesofa” and/or makes a hand gesture towards the target object 170, data isreceived from a third party device indicating a command, etc.), theprocess may proceed to block 806, whereby the target object 170 issensed based on the data that was provided.

If the indicator is emitted at the target object 170 at block 804, theuser interface device 160 may transmit a signal and/or data to the robotdevice 102 at block 808. Such a signal and/or data corresponds to anindication that the indicator is being projected by the user interfacedevice 160. For example, the user interface device 160 may automaticallytransmit a signal whenever the user 150 presses a button that causes theuser interface device to project the indicator (e.g., the user 150presses a button that activates a laser projector). In another example,the user interface device 160 may transmit data corresponding todetected location coordinates of the target object 170 and/or locationcoordinates of the user interface device 160 to facilitate detection ofthe target object 170.

In some embodiments, the robot device 102 may transmit a confirmation tothe user interface device 160, which is received by the user interfacedevice 160 at block 810. The confirmation may be a signal and/or datathat confirms that the robot device 102 received the signal and/or datafrom the user interface device 160. The process may return to block 806for sensing the target object 170, as described herein.

It should now be understood that the robot systems described herein areconfigured to autonomously detect and lift objects from a relativelylower height (e.g., ground or floor level) to a relatively higher height(e.g., a height that is more easily reachable by a user) upon receivinga command from the user. The robot systems described herein generallyinclude various components that receive inputs and/or data, sense asurrounding area, autonomously move and locate objects, collect objects,and raise objects. As a result, the robot systems described herein maybe particularly useful for elderly users and/or users with reducedmobility, such as users that are unable to easily stoop, crouch, or bendover to pick up an object, users that have arthritis or anothercondition that makes it difficult to use gripping devices, and/or usersthat cannot move around a space, such as bedridden users.

While particular embodiments have been illustrated and described herein,it should be understood that various other changes and modifications maybe made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimedsubject matter. Moreover, although various aspects of the claimedsubject matter have been described herein, such aspects need not beutilized in combination. It is therefore intended that the appendedclaims cover all such changes and modifications that are within thescope of the claimed subject matter.

1. A method comprising: receiving a command to lift an object; rotatinga collection arm hingedly coupled to a tray body of a collection tray ofa robot away from the tray body such that the object is located betweena portion of the collection arm and the tray body; rotating thecollection arm toward the tray body to sweep the object onto the traybody; and lifting the tray body from a first height to a second height.2. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting the object with asensor device of the robot.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: determining a location of the object; and moving the robotto the location of the object prior to rotating the collection arm. 4.The method of claim 3, further comprising determining a movement path tothe object based on the location of the object, wherein moving the robotis according to the movement path.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinreceiving the command to lift the object comprises: receiving one ormore of a voiced command, image data, and a gesture from a user via auser interface communicatively coupled to the robot; and determining alocation of the object based on the one or more of the voiced command,the image data, and the gesture.
 6. The method of claim 5, furthercomprising: determining a movement path to the object based on thelocation of the object; and moving the robot according to the movementpath.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the command to liftthe objects comprises detecting an indicator on or around the object,the indicator emitted by a light emitting component of a user interfacedevice when the user interface device is aimed by a user at the object.8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining a location ofa user; and moving the robot to the user.
 9. The method of claim 8,further comprising determining a movement path to the object based onthe location of the object, wherein moving the robot is according to themovement path.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the movement path isdetermined using a mapping algorithm that accounts for free space andblockages to prevent the robot from colliding with other objects. 11.The method of claim 1, further comprising: capturing one or more imagesof an environment surrounding the robot using a sensor device;transmitting data corresponding to the one or more images from thesensor device to a processing device of the robot; determining one ormore movement commands based on the data; and transmitting one or moresignals corresponding to the one or more movement commands to a drivemechanism of the robot to cause one or more wheels of the robot to movesuch that the robot operates autonomously or semi-autonomously.
 12. Themethod of claim 1, wherein rotating the collection arm comprisesdirecting an actuator to cause the collection arm to rotate.
 13. Amethod comprising: receiving a command to lift an object; moving amobile unit comprising a plow to the object; causing the mobile unit topush the object via the plow onto a lifting pad of a standing unitseparate from the mobile unit; and directing the lifting pad to lift theobject from a ground surface to a height.
 14. The method of claim 13,further comprising detecting the object with a sensor device of therobot.
 15. The method of claim 13, further comprising determining amovement path to the object based on a location of the object, whereinmoving the mobile first unit is according to the movement path.
 16. Themethod of claim 13, further comprising determining a movement path fromthe object to the standing unit based on a location of the object andthe standing unit, wherein causing the mobile first unit to push theobject is completed according to the movement path.
 17. The method ofclaim 13, wherein receiving the command to lift the object comprises:receiving one or more of a voiced command, image data, and a gesturefrom a user via a user interface communicatively coupled to the robot;determining a location of the object based on the one or more of thevoiced command, the image data, and the gesture; and determining amovement path to the object based on the location of the object, whereinmoving the mobile first unit to the object is according to the movementpath.
 18. The method of claim 13, wherein, upon receiving the command tolift the object: the mobile first unit automatically detects the objectprior to moving to the object and causes the plow component to contactthe object; and the standing unit detects the object on the lifting padand actuates a lifting component to lift the lifting pad and the objectto the height.
 19. A method, comprising: receiving a signal or data froma user interface device of a lifting robot system, the signal or thedata corresponding to a request from a user to retrieve an object;receiving sensor data from a sensor device of the lifting robot system,wherein the sensor data corresponds to a sensed environment around thelifting robot system and comprises the object and an indicatorindicating the object; determining a location of the object; directingmovement of a robot device of the lifting robot system to the objectsuch that the object is placed on a collection tray of the robot device;and causing a lifting component of the robot device coupled to thecollection tray to raise the collection tray and the object thereon. 20.The method of claim 1, further comprising rotating a collection armhingedly coupled to the collection tray to sweep the object onto thecollection tray.